At the Edge of Reality

By: Lily (Lena) Evans

'I wake in the dark and remember

it is the morning when I must start

by myself on the journey' W.S. Merwin

Summary: The Gravi cast is (somehow) transported to a world where kings rule the land and knights and sorcerers roam. When an evil threatens to destroy the world they must all step up and help protect it and (hopefully) find a way home. Violence. Various couples. Broken hearts. OOC-ness. Yaoi (I bet you weren't expecting that). Just when you thought Eiri couldn't get any more sexy… he gets a sword! Why, you ask? Because it's MY fic and I said so!

Genre: Fantasy/Action/Adventure

A/N: Yay! Another chapter! I was having a lot of trouble keeping the characters in character, most likely because they wouldn't act very natural if something like this happened. Anywho, Read and Review!

Chapter 1: A… Warm Welcome

Shuichi opened his eyes and sat up quickly. He was laying in a grass meadow and there was a cow next to him. He yelled and ran a few feet in the other direction. The cow cocked its head and stared at the strange looking boy. It then bent its head and kept eating the grass.

Shuichi looked around. There was definitely no place like this in Japan. Well, maybe there was, but not in Tokyo. He was beginning to panic.

"Yu—YUKIIIIIII!!!!" The singer began running in no particular direction. He fell down when he tripped over something.

"Ow…" Tohma sat up and rubbed his neck, glaring at Shuichi.

"Se—Seguchi-san!" Shuichi felt his eyes go wide. So Tohma was there too.

"Shindou, what are you—" Shuichi's boss cut off and looked around him, taking in the surroundings. "Where are we?"

"I don't know," Shuichi said, trying not to snap at the other man. "I've never seen this place before."

"Do you remember anything?"

"Yeah, I remember a lot of things." Tohma glared at him.

"Don't get smart with me," Tohma snapped. "I mean immediately before this."

"Oh," Shuichi said, trying to stay on Tohma's good side. "Not really. I remember talking to Yuki. I saw a light I thought someone had their headlights on to bright."

"Hm, that sounds about right," Tohma said. "That is about the same as what I experienced."

"Okay," Shuichi said. "Now what?"

"I'm not quite sure," Tohma said. "I have never experienced anything like this, Shindou-san." Shuichi hung his head, holding back the snappy comment he had for his boss.

"Oy, you there!" a voice called out to them. "Git outta the cow's grazin' fields!" They turned around to see a woman holding a pitchfork and running towards them.

"Wait, ma'am, we can explain," Tohma said, holding up his hands.

"Well, git to explainin'," the lady said, stopping but still holding the pitchfork out in front of her.

"We—we are travelers and we're lost," he said. Shuichi did not think the woman would believe this, but she did.

"Y'all are sure dressed funny fer a couple o' travelers," the woman said, putting the pitchfork on the ground. "Where'd y'all come from?"

"Tokyo, Japan," Tohma said. The woman looked confused.

"Don' reckon I've ever heard o' that," she said. "Is that your girlfriend mister?" She looked back and forth from Tohma to Shuichi.

"NO!" both men shouted at her. She looked taken aback. She clearly had not realized that Shuichi was a male.

"All right, all right," she said. "No harm meant. Why're y'all dressed so funny?" Tohma looked over himself and Shuichi and then regarded the woman. She had on a plain, old English peasant dress on. Tohma, on the other hand, was wearing his black suit with the red vest and Shuichi was wearing a pair of shorts and a pink button up with a green undershirt.

"Um," Tohma could not find an answer for that question. "We, uh—"

"We make our own clothes," Shuichi said, Tohma raised an eyebrow. The woman bought it.

"All right, then," she said. "Well, why don' y'all come on over to the inn. I'll fix y'all up with some food. Maybe more comfortable clothes."

"Thank you, ma'am," Tohma said, not really wanting to change his clothes.

"Seguchi-san?" Shuichi asked.

"What is it?" Tohma asked, looking back at the singer.

"I think we have a problem." Tohma agreed wholeheartedly.

(Change Scene)

Hiro woke up to somebody kicking him in the sides. He tried slapping it away, but it kept coming back to kick him harder.

"Stop that," he snapped. Then he remembered he was in the bathroom. Did he pass out? He snapped up and looked around. No, he definitely was not in the bathroom. "Where am I?"

"How the hell should I know?" Eiri was standing next to him, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

"What did you do?" Hiro asked. "Where are we?"

"I just told you I don't know," Eiri snapped. Hiro sighed and stood up, looking around. They were in a marsh of some kind.

"Where the hell are we?" Hiro asked again. Eiri looked irritated.

"How many times are you going to ask that question?" Eiri asked, walking away.

"Where are you going?" Hiro snapped following the novelist.

"Well, if I don't know where we are," Eiri said. "I can't possibly know where I'm going. However, I am going to try to find some kind of civilization. Is that good enough for you?"

"I'm going with you," Hiro said. "Where's Shuichi?" Eiri sighed and walked away from the guitarist, who followed.

(Change Scene)

"Mika-san?" Mika's eyes fluttered open; she squinted as sunlight flooded her vision. "Mika-san?" She looked over to see Ryuichi looking very lost and confused.

"Oh, I thought you weren't coming over for dinner," she said, not really taking in that they were not even in her house.

"Um, Mika-san?" Ryuichi asked, still looking confused. "Where are we?"

"I'm not sure, Sakuma-san," she said, shaking her head.

"Where's Kuma-chan?" Ryuichi asked.

"Um…" Mika really had no clue where the stuffed rabbit could be, but she decided that they would find it when they figured out where they were.

"He could be lost, or hurt, or worse!" Ryuichi was suddenly frantic. "And where's To-chan and Nori-chan? They were with Ryuichi earlier."

"Where were you earlier?" Mika asked.

"To-chan's office," Ryuichi answered. "We were going to record Nori-chan's song, but this pretty light came."

"Hm…" Mika put her hand to her chin, trying to think. "Well, we're obviously not in Japan anymore." That seemed a rather cheesy thing to say, but she figured it was true.

"Wh-what?" Ryuichi seemed like he was going to panic. "Kuma-Chan is in Japan! He must be lonely, someone could have kidnapped him!"

"I'm sure Kumagoro is just fine," Mika said, soothingly. "Don't worry. Let's find out where we are." Mika felt a finger tap her on the shoulder. "What is it Ryuichi?" The finger tapped her again. "I said—" She cut off. There was a very strange looking woman behind her with Ryuichi in a headlock.

"M-Mika-san?" Ryuichi asked, his eyes tearing up.

"Ca-can we help you?" Mika asked.

"Who are you?" the woman asked in a mysterious sounding voice. "Why are you dressed like that?"

"Um…" Mika looked at the woman. She was wearing a long black dress. Her nails were about two inches long and her hair was black and flowing down her back.

"Are you going to answer the question?" the woman asked.

"We—" Mika could not find the words. "Could you tell us where we are?"

"Answer my question first," the woman commanded. Ryuichi began to whimper under the woman's arm.

"We're from Japan," Mika said, hoping that would work.

"Jap—what?" the woman looked confused. "I have never heard of such a place."

"Oh, um…" The woman shrugged and let go of Ryuichi, who ran to Mika and hugged her.

"Follow me," she commanded.

"Where are we going?" Mika asked.

"To the village," the woman said as though it were obvious. "Or would you rather stay here?" Mika and Ryuichi shook their heads and followed the strange woman.

(Change Scene)

"Try to stay calm!" Sakano commanded, obviously having his own form of a panic attack.

"Calm down," K instructed, rolling his eyes. "We're never going to find out where we are if you're going to freak out like that." Sakano sounded like he was hyperventilating. K put the gun his was polishing to the producer's head. "I said calm down." Sakano stopped hyperventilating, in fact, he stopped breathing all together.

"Wh-where's Fujisaki-san?" Sakano asked, obviously thinking the teenager could protect him. K rolled his eyes again.

"I don't know," the manager told him. "We don't even know where we are." Sakano looked like he was going to have another panic attack so K walked away, trying to ignore the uptight producer. He realized, as he neared the gates of the town that it was the only town for miles. "Dammit."

(Change Scene)

"Where the hell are we?"

"I don't know, let go of me!" Suguru was trying to pry himself loose from Tatsuha's grip. The latter was panicking, which was unusual. Suguru was trying to remain calm, which was difficult when you were being choked.

"Mika!" Tatsuha called. "You can come out now!"

"I really don't think she's here," Suguru told him. Boy, was that a mistake. Tatsuha began panicking even more. "W-wait! I'm sure if we look around a bit we'll find out where we are, okay?" Suguru had never had to be the adult in a situation like this before, but he might as well, even if he was only a few months older than the other teenager.

The two boys walked through the town. The more they wandered the more they felt lost.

"Okay, this isn't working," Suguru stated. Tatsuha glared at him.

"Maybe we should ask for directions?" Tatsuha said.

"To where?" Suguru asked.

"Home?" Tatsuha answered. "Maybe someone will know how to get back to Tokyo."

"This town doesn't look Japanese," Suguru noted.

"So what?" Tatsuha asked.

"Well, maybe you're right. Maybe we can at least find out where we are," Suguru said, taking the lead again, looking for somebody they could ask for directions.

A hand slowly reached up and grabbed Tatsuha by the shoulder. The monk screamed and latched himself onto Suguru's arm. A creepy looking old lady was standing behind them. She looked like she was homeless and she was missing teeth.

"Lost?" she asked.

"N-no," Suguru said, not wanting to ask her for directions.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "I can lead you to the entrance of the town."

"Oh, th-thank you," Suguru said. She smiled a toothless smile and began walking. The two boys followed her, not really sure if they could trust her.

(Change Scene)

Noriko sighed, feeling irritated. Now she knew why Eiri did not want to marry this girl. Ayaka was complaining about Hiro and how he left her to fend for herself. Then she began complaining about how Hiro was in trouble or how he would feel when he saw that she was gone. Noriko resisted the urge to bang her head against the nearest wall, by picking up her pace to lose the other girl.

"Ukai-san?" Ayaka asked, picking up her pace as well. "Where are we going anyway?"

"I don't know," Noriko answered truthfully. "I don't even know where we are right now."

"Maybe you should ask for directions?" Ayaka suggested. Noriko glared at the other girl.

"All right," Noriko said. "Who do you propose we ask? We're in an alleyway with nobody here."

"There are a few men down that way," Ayaka pointed to where a fire was burning.

"No," Noriko said. "We don't know what they're like. They could mug us, or worse."

"It couldn't hurt," Ayaka said, walking towards the men. Noriko leaned against the wall. If that girl was going to get raped it was her own damn fault and Noriko was not going to help her. As Ayaka neared the men Noriko decided it would be bad if the girl were hurt or something, so she hurried off after her.

(Change Scene)

"I told you to call Seguchi, not turn on the lights," Tachi said irritated.

"That's what I did," Maa protested.

"Where are we?" Ken asked, looking around. "This doesn't look like anywhere I've ever seen before." The other men regarded their surroundings as well.

"What the hell did you do?" Tachi demanded, his eyes wide.

"I-I don't know," Maa admitted. "I just dialed Seguchi-san's number, like you told me to, and now…" he trailed off, looking around.

They were in a dark alleyway, which was not comforting. There was also nobody around.

"Maybe we should try to find somebody," Ken suggested. Tachi and Maa nodded, but they did not get very far. As soon as Tachi took the lead something hit the wall right in front of his face, making a foot sized dent in it. All three men stood paralyzed. The foot that made the dent was still in front of Tachi's face.

"We don't like outsiders," was all the person said. After that a fist came and hit Tachi in the face, knocking him out. His band members soon met the same fate.

(Change Scene)

"Seguchi-san…"

"What is it?" Tohma asked, turning to the singer.

"This feels weird," Shuichi said honestly. Tohma sighed.

"They can't supply us with any other clothes, Shindou-san," Tohma told him. "It would be best for us to blend in for the time being. Though, that will be hard as it is," Tohma regarded Shuichi's hair and eyes. "However, we must blend in as much as possible." Shuichi sighed.

"Okay," he said. "But can't they give me longer pants?"

"I suppose it is custom for somebody your size to wear pants that short," Tohma said. "Or she might have assumed you wouldn't mind because of your shorts earlier." Shuichi was having trouble with the breeches the woman had supplied him with. Both men were given breeches (Tohma had gotten long ones). Tohma had a short jerkin, gloves, boots, a girdle, and a cloak. Shuichi felt a little cheated. He had gotten a tunic (at least it was short), a girdle, a cap (that looked like it might have belonged to the shriners), a pair of shoes, and what the woman called 'hose'. Shuichi thought they looked suspiciously like tights. He was considering not wearing them until Tohma forced him to put them on.

"Now," Tohma said to the woman. "Can you tell us where we are?"

"Yer in Daini." Tohma stayed silent for a moment.

"Where?" he asked.

"Oh," the woman said. "You haven' heard about this village before, have you?" Both men shook their heads. "Not many people have."

"Can you tell us what country we're in?" Tohma asked.

"Ainuba," the woman said proudly.

"Come again?" Tohma asked.

"Ainuba," she repeated. "So, you haven' heard o' our village?"

"Lady, we haven't even heard of your country," Shuichi cut in. Tohma put up and hand to silence him.

"I believe there is something wrong," Tohma told her. "Excuse us for one moment." He grabbed Shuichi roughly by the back of his tunic and dragged him into the next room.

"What's wrong?" Shuichi asked.

"I don't think we're in our world anymore, Shindou-san," Tohma said. Shuichi put his hand out cautiously to feel his boss' forehead.

"Um, Seguchi-san," Shuichi started.

"No, I don't believe it either," Tohma said, cutting him off. Shuichi breathed a sigh of relief; at least Tohma was still sane. "But that is what it seems like."

"Well…" Shuichi was hesitant. "There has to be an explanation for it."

"I agree," Tohma said. He looked doubtful, but smiled reassuringly. They went back into the other room with the woman.

"You boys all set now?" she asked.

"For what?" Shuichi asked.

"I'm gonna git y'all to Zecim," she said.

"Where?" Tohma asked.

"It's the capital o' this here country," she said. "Maybe y'all will see someone y'all recognize."

"Possibly," Tohma said. "Why the capital?"

"Well, y'all talk like them there nobles," she said. "All them nobles gather in either Zecim or Trenk."

"Very well," Tohma said.

"Um… what's your name?" Shuichi asked, realizing that they did not know it.

"Oh," she said. "I'm Cory, nice to meetcha. Who're you?"

"Forgive us," Tohma said. "My name is Tohma Seguchi."

"I'm Shuichi Shindou," Shuichi cut in.

"Tohma and Shuichi," she giggled. "Y'all got funny names. Anyway, let's git goin'. Time's a wastin'."

(Change Scene)

"There doesn't seem to be any humans here," Hiro stated.

"We are in a marsh," Eiri pointed out, growing increasingly irritated with the guitarist.

"Then let's try to get out of here," Hiro suggested.

"That's what I've been trying to do," Eiri told him. "Did you really think I was looking for people in this place?" Hiro glared at him. "Baka."

"Shut up," Hiro snapped. "Fine. Let's get out of here."

(Change Scene)

"Wow."

"Yes, it's very nice."

"Wow."

"Mm Hm."

"Wow."

"Yes, Ryuichi. I know. It's very nice," Mika hung her head. They had gone with the woman to 'the village'. Mika had half expected it to be covered in moss and run-down. She was wrong. It was beautiful town that just happened to be in the middle of a forest. The houses looked like a professional carpenter had built them.

"It's like magic," Ryuichi said.

"Hm," Mika figured it was not magic, but she agreed that it looked like it.

"Hey, where'd the lady go?" Ryuichi asked. Mika looked around. It was true. The woman who had led them there had completely vanished.

"Where did she go?" Mika asked frowning. She heard Ryuichi whimper behind her. She wheeled around and saw a lot of women crowding around him. They all looked like the woman they met earlier. "Wh-what are you doing to him?" Mika asked. The women laughed, a laugh that sent chills down Mika's spine.

"He's very pretty," one of the women said, running a finger along his neck.

"So?" Mika asked. "What do you want with him?"

"We need humans to boost our magic," another one said. Ryuichi's eyes went big and he began struggling. A woman promptly hit him on the head with a broom, hard enough to knock him out.

"Your what?" Mika asked. "I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you correctly."

"Magic," the woman repeated slowly. "By extracting human blood and using it in our potions we have a higher success rate with spells." Another woman hit her on the head.

"Don't tell her what we do here," she snapped. The other woman looked apologetic.

"Why do you need Ryuichi?" Mika asked. "Because, you know, he's not entirely human." She had just thought of that in the line of fire, and supposed it would not work.

"We need him because a human who is young boosts magic higher than one who is older," a tall one said.

"Young?" Mika asked. "He's thirty-one."

"He's young at heart," the first one said. "In his heart he is still a child." Mika was growing irritated.

"Just let him go," Mika said. "We promise not to say anything about your village."

"That's too bad," a different woman said. It was getting difficult to tell them apart.

"Please?" Mika asked, feeling desperate.

"In fact," the first woman said. "Two humans are even better." She snapped her fingers and more women grabbed Mika from behind. She began struggling against the grip they had on her. Then a bright light shone all over making the women shriek.

"You are not permitted to touch them," a voice rang out. Mika's eyes widened, but she felt sleep overcome her. The last thing she saw was another woman making her way towards her, her hand outstretched.

(Change Scene)

"Why won't anybody talk to us?" Sakano asked desperately.

"Maybe because you keep scaring them away," K said. "Quite a switch, I might add."

"No, they must be afraid of you," Sakano said.

"I think they're afraid that you're going to go into spasms and that they'll get blamed for it," K retorted.

"But you're putting your guns in their faces!" Sakano yelled.

"Yes, but that seems to have no effect," K said, upset. Usually he was able to threaten people and they would do his orders right away, but these people seemed to have no fear of him or his weapons.

"Excuse me, sirs?" a woman behind them asked. "Are you lost?"

"Oh, yes," Sakano said. "Thank you." K decided to test his theory once and for all. He pulled a semi-automatic out of his pocket and put it to her face. Sakano shrieked, but K held him back. The girl cocked her head, looking confused.

"Are you some kind of inventor?" she asked.

"Huh?" Sakano looked confused.

"I have never seen such a contraption," she admitted. "What do you call it?"

"A gun," K said, his patience leaving him. "Now, take me to somebody who can help us. Or else."

"What does it do?" she did not seem to understand his threat.

"It blows people's heads off."

"Oh." The girl suddenly looked afraid. "R-right this way, s-sir." She held a shaky hand out, motioning them to follow her.

"See?" K said, turning to Sakano. "THAT is how you get people to do what you want." Sakano sighed and followed the woman.

(Change Scene)

"Thanks lady," Tatsuha said. As the old woman finally pointed to a narrow pathway, telling them that it would lead them straight to the entrance of the town.

The teenagers walked about halfway down the alleyway when a group of men jumped out in front of them. The two boys turned around to see another group of men and the old woman.

"Thanks Jonnie," one of the men said. "These two are a catch."

"Huh?" Tatsuha looked confused.

"Oh, wonderful," Suguru snapped, the terror he was feeling not coming out in his voice.

"What are you going to do?" Tatsuha asked. The men weren't listening.

"So, who wants the taller one?" the old lady asked in a deep voice.

"You—You're a man!" Tatsuha yelled.

"So what kid?" the 'old lady' asked. "It was so easy to trick you."

"Dude!" Tatsuha looked disgusted. "That's even weirder than Shuichi dressing up in that orange dress."

"Shut up!" another man snapped. "No one answered Jonnie's question."

"I'll take the short one," Jonnie said, shedding his old lady clothes, revealing what looked like a bandit.

"Great, now we get raped," Suguru said, attempting to hide his fear.

"That's right," Jonnie said. Tatsuha glared.

"I'm not going down without a fight!" he yelled.

"Aren't you supposed to be a monk?" Suguru asked. All of a sudden all of the men looked fearful.

"You—You're a monk?" Jonnie asked, pointing a shaking finger.

"Yeah," Tatsuha said, not noticing that the men were afraid of him. "So what?" Suguru, however, noticed that the men were backing away.

"Yeah," Suguru said. "We both are." This made the men retreat even more.

"What are you—?" Suguru put his hand to Tatsuha's mouth to silence him. The other teenager looked pouty but he complied.

"This guy here's second in command at the monastery," Suguru said, not really knowing what he was talking about. The men then turned on their heels and ran in all different directions.

"What the hell?" Tatsuha asked.

"They must be very religious or very superstitious," Suguru noted. "Come on. If that Jonnie guy was telling the truth, we have a free pathway to the exit."

(Change Scene)

"I told you not to ask them!" Noriko yelled. "Are they still behind us?"

"Yeah," Ayaka said, panting. She clearly was not used to running so much.

"Where the hell's the actual town?" Noriko asked. She spotted a rundown church, grabbed Ayaka's hand, and threw her inside. There were a lot of places to hide in there. The men ran past after a little while and kept going. Noriko poked her head out and sighed with relief. "That was close."

"I'm sorry," Ayaka said. "I thought maybe I could help."

"Well, I guess it was worth a shot," Noriko admitted. "It doesn't matter now, we're okay."

"Hey, where does this ladder go?" Ayaka asked.

"I'm not following your advice anymore," Noriko snapped. "Since those guys are gone, let's head back in the other direction. Maybe that was the way to the town." She was right; after they turned the corner where the men were sitting they found the town, which seemed to be a bustling metropolis. Only, it looked like one of those towns from the medieval times.

"Where are we?" Ayaka asked. Noriko shrugged.

"Well, hello ladies!" a woman stood behind them, smiling. "Would you like to purchase a melon today?"

"No thank you," Noriko said. "We were hoping that you could tell us where we are."

"Why, you're in Zecim, of course," the woman said.

"Ze-what?" Noriko asked.

"Are you foreign?" the woman asked. "You must be. You're dressed funny and you don't even know where you are. But how did you get past security, I wonder…"

"Well, excuse me," Noriko said, her temper rising. "How far is Japan from here?"

"What?"

"Japan," Noriko repeated slowly.

"Ja…pan? I've never heard of that before," the woman said. "Is that the new nation that broke off from Elihuse?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Noriko snapped.

"Oh, dear," the woman said. "Somebody call a doctor!"

"Why would I need a doctor?" Noriko snapped.

"You don't seem to know any of the great nations of the world," the woman said. "You must have some kind of disease."

"Like amnesia?" Ayaka asked, not helping Noriko very much.

"Yeah," the woman said. "You know what Ainuba and Elihuse are, right?"

"Not a clue," Ayaka said.

"Oh, it must be spreading!" the woman yelled. "Oh no! The disease is spreading!" People began screaming and ran into their houses, leaving Ayaka and Noriko alone on the street.

"Well…" Noriko said. "How's that for a warm welcome?"

END CHAPTER ONE

A/N: Okay, now that we have their situations all sorted out… Will they ever find each other? Will Eiri and Hiro find their way out of the marsh? Will Suguru and Tatsuha find the town gates? Will Sakano and K find out where the hell they are? Who saved Ryuichi and Mika? What happened to ASK? Will Shuichi ever get used to the breeches? Review please!

Love always,

Lily